This strawberry season has really been pumping out a bunch of tasty (and beyond sweet!) berries each day.

This particular season I incorporated Malibu Compost, a biodynamic, or “beyond organic”, compost to the soil and the plants are producing more than ever and flavor is off the charts good.  Typically I pick a big handful on a daily basis and simply freeze them for my daily BioTransformation Shake, but after a big weekend fresh pick, I had enough to get creative with some homemade recipes.

I did this amazingly fresh strawberry jam as well as some homemade strawberry cheesecake cupcakes (we’ll look at this recipe tomorrow, as this jam is an option for it).  Although you don’t need to grow your own strawberries to make this jam, I always try to encourage growing your own food, no matter the living space.

This homemade strawberry jam is paleo, vegetarian & vegan-friendly, ReBoot-friendly (week 1+), refined sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and made with 100% real food ingredients.

Let’s take a look at the recipe!

Ingredients:

4 cups strawberries

2 fuji apples, cored

2 heap tablespoons raw, unpasteurized honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

*links above are brands I personally use and recommend

Optional:  If you want to turn this into chia jam, add 2-3 tablespoons of chia seeds (after step #4 below when cooled)

Directions:

1. Wash and slice the ends off your strawberries.  Slice and remove core of apples.  Add the ingredients to a food processor or Vitamix and blend until all ingredients smooth.  I blended a good minute.

2. Add your strawberry mixture to a sauce pan and bring just to a boil and then reduce to lowest heat.  Stir in your honey and vanilla extract.

3.  Stir the strawberries every 5 minutes or so with a whisk, and depending on the consistency you want, it will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or so to reduce down.

Note:  Stirring every 5 minutes for up to an hour can seem tedious and time wasteful, so typically during this time I’m meal prepping other foods while listening or watching audio/video lectures, or answering emails to maximize my “kitchen time”.  It’s a great two birds one stone habit I like to use and recommend for the kitchen to maximize time.

4.  Once the strawberry mixture has reduced, let it cool and then transfer to a glass jar.  Option:  for chia strawberry jam, stir in chia seeds here and let the jam setup in the fridge (the chia seeds will get gelatinous after a few hours).

Store your strawberry jam in the refrigerator and enjoy!